Water is a vital resource for human life today, and often, water is also used for work or even for play. Swimming pools and car washes may come to mind. On a smaller scale, a home gardener may want to get a fine garden hose for watering their gardens and other plants in their yard. Any hose will be a flexible tube for carrying water, but there is more variance to hoses than some may realize. Flexible garden hoses may be made from nylon weave or rubber, and hoses vary in length. A hose manufacturer may offer a number of different models, or a smaller hose manufacturer may offer a narrower selection of fine hoses to choose from. A fine brand from a hose manufacturer may offer a tough, reliable hose that can get a good day’s work done. What can today’s consumer expect from a local hose manufacturer, and different models of hoses?
Uses for Hoses
All hoses for consumer use are a flexible tube for carrying water from a faucet or spigot, but there may be different lengths and materials involved. Depending on the homeowner’s need, they may get a shorter or a very long hose, and they may have preference on the material, too. Even the water pressure inside the hose is a factor to consider, since a hose nozzle or a sprinkler may call for a horse whose burst pressure if 350 psi or higher.
The consumer’s intended use for a hose may affect what model to purchase. Gardening and lawn care are common uses for hoses, and there are some figures for how this works. Green landscaping, for example, calls for a soaker hose that is no more than 100 feet in length, and a fine garden hose may be expected to last around 10 years. Plenty of water may be needed; to cover an average lawn with one inch of water calls for half a gallon per square foot. After all, experts suggest this level of watering for a lawn, often in dry weather, and a strong hose is central for this work. Or, a hose may be plugged into a sprinkler, and over time, that sprinkler will apply the water to the lawn as needed.
What else might hoses be used for? They can also be used for filling an item with water, such as a backyard swimming pool, or they can be used for washing a car. In these cases, a shorter hose may be all that is needed, since a person doesn’t have to reach every part of their lawn to get this work done. The item that needs the hose, such as a smaller swimming pool or a car to be washed, can be placed near the spigot. For washing a car, a consumer may attach a spray nozzle to spray the water everywhere during their work, but this won’t be needed for filling a swimming pool.
What about camping or boating? For those outdoor activities, a person may have to bring fresh, potable (safe to drink) water with them. The right hose can be used for that too, filling certain water tanks in an RV or boat for drinking water. To do this, a consumer should also use the right kind of hose, whose exterior will probably be white or blue to make it distinct from other hoses. These hoses tend to be shorter, usually 10 to 50 feet long, and their interior will be clean enough to carry potable water and keep it safe for drinking.
A person may also choose the length or material of those hose based on storage needs. A very long hose can be a hassle to store unless the owner has the right solution. For example, a consumer may get a large, plastic wheel that attaches to the side of their house. The hose can be wrapped around this wheel and kept in a tangle-free storage solution. In this way, the wheel is more like a spool, but for a hose instead of yarn or threads. A hose owner can also loop it around a hook on the wall of their shed, or allow it to lay on the shed floor it it is short and not prone to tangles.